1. Start Ups: Does Your Product Fit the Market?
By Laurence Driscoll for Bloom Consulting
It’sa simple question,butsometimeswe hearwhatwe wantto. A commonmistake StartUps make
whendevelopingtheirproduct,isthey discountthe answerspotential customersgive if theydon’t
fitwithinapreconceived objective.Insteadfocusingonanswersthatvalidate the productthey
alreadyhave.It’simportanttoask questions,butit’sjustasimportant tolisten,observeandevolve
your productand Value Proposition withthe answers totrulyunderstandif youfit withinanalready
crowded market.
Whisk,the free appthat allows customerstoturnrecipesintodigital shoppinglists,isagreat
example of aStart Up listening,observingandevolvingtofitthe market.Inadditiontothe digital
shoppinglistfunction,WhiskfounderNickHolzherranalysedhiscustomerpurchasesversusrecipe
ingredientamounts identifyingpossiblefoodwastage.Furthertothisanalysis,inausersurvey
Whiskfoundthatnearly40% of their customersbelievedtheirfoodwastage wasabove the national
average and79% couldbe reducedthroughbettermeal planning. Theseobservationsledto
collaborationwithUnilever’sProjectSunlighttodevelopWhiskLeftovers,allowinguserstoenter
theirleftoveringredientsandbe presentedwitharange of new recipe ideas,reversingthe process
and doingitspart to reduce foodandfinancial waste.
Like Whisk,beingflexiblewhenreceivingfeedbackcould potentially make yourStartUp’s producta
success and eventake itina newdirection.Yourideaisgreat,butmore oftenthannot, youridea
has beenbornoutof a painyou have faced yourself.How doyouknow it’sa painthat your target
customerhas?The answerisyoudon’t,whichiswhyyou mustlisten andobserve because if yougo
to marketwitha rigidproductthat resistschange,itwill suffernomatterhow revolutionaryitmay
be.
Take the Quiz – DevelopingYourValue Proposition
It’stime to getPaxmanon yourcustomers.Formulate aseriesof questionsthatgettothe root of
theirpain and whattheycan get outof yourproduct - ultimatelythiswillinformyourValue
Proposition. A Value Proposition addressesboththe featuresand businessmodel requiredto
entice a customer to buy your product. It describesyourtargetbuyer,the problemyousolve,and
whyyou are distinctlybetterthanthe alternatives. Itisnot jargonand hasto speakto the customer
intheirownlanguage.Itconsistsof:
 A headline that describesthe end benefitthat will grab the customers’attention.
 A 2-3 sentence paragraph which isa specificexplanationof what you do.
 Bulletpointslistingyour key features
 A visual of your product or an image that reinforcesyour main message.
In essence,your Value Proposition shouldtransferthe excitementyouhave for thatproductto the
customer. A compellingValue Propositionwhichjoinsthe conversationthatisalreadygoingonin
the customersmind will give yourStartUp the keyto theirundying customerdevotion.Orsimply
put,a marketfit.
Hire Help
Withoutcastingtoo manyaspersionsonyourcustomers,theymaynotbe telling youthe whole
truth whenansweringquestionsabouttheirbuyinghabits. That’swhyit’sbeneficial tobringina
thirdparty to quizcustomers onyour behalf. Theywill investigate what’sbehindthe sale.Your
customerisnot buyingyourproduct,they’re buyingwhatthey cangetout of your product.
Customers speak candidlywhentheyknow theirresponsesare anonymous.It’sthe brutallyhonest
answersthatwill informyourproducts’marketfit.

2. Like to Watch
Observe themintheirnatural environment.Thiscanbe hard to pull off, especiallyif youdon’thave
a shop frontto hangabout in, but there isa simple wayaroundthis.Lookonline –especiallyif your
productaims to disruptthe market - it seemsattimes the internetwasinventedsowe couldall vent
our feelingsaboutanythingwithoutthe fearof reprisal.Readthe reviews of yourcompetitors, look
at the pinboards,the chat rooms,the FAQs – amongstall that organic noise,there will be the likes,
dislikesandinstinctive behavioursof yourcustomers.Anuntapped goldmine yourproduct
developmentneeds.
Own a Brand Position
What your businessneedsisastrongsimple missionstatementthatyoucan hangyour marketing
communicationstrategyon. Bose haspremiumsoundthroughresearch, Twitterletsyouknow what
people are doingin140 characters andIKEA isbuildingabetterlife athome foreveryone.
Developingasuccinctmissionstatementwithanexpertinbusinessstrategywill keepyourmessage
alive inthe mindsof yourcustomers,youremployeesandeveryone whocomesintocontactwith
your productor service.
Sometimes itmayseemlike thereisadegree of luckinvolvedwhencomingupwithaproductthat
will intrigue, excite andfitin analreadybusymarket place.But if youask the rightquestions of
yourself andyourcustomer, listentothose answers bydevelopingan excitingValueProposition and
an instantlyrecognisable missionstatement, yourtargetcustomerwillbe almostastangible asyour
productallowingyoutopredictwhattheywant ratherthan relyingonchance to cure theirpain, win
theirloyalty andbecome agenuine marketfit.